McAllen

James Sturgis AUSA-in-Charge

The McAllen Division is located within view of the Rio Grande River and the border with Mexico. The Rio Grande Valley area is a major drug and alien smuggling gateway and transportation route into the interior of the United States from South America, Central America and Mexico and a major firearms and ammunition route into Mexico. The McAllen/Pharr/Edinburg metropolitan area consistently ranks as one of the fastest growing population centers in the nation with nine major ports of entry into the United States.

Most cases involve either drugs or aliens, although attorneys also handle white collar crimes such as health care fraud, bank fraud, document fraud, counterfeit goods, money laundering, counterfeit currency and other matters. If the McAllen Division were its own United States Attorneys’ Office it would rank in the top10 nationally for felony indictments and misdemeanor complaints handled.

The general criminal attorneys also lend support and trial expertise to other sections within the office such as terrorism and national security, public corruption and health care fraud. The OCDETF attorneys handle long term investigations into criminal narcotics trafficking organizations operating in the United States and Mexico and the asset forfeiture attorneys routinely forfeit large monetary amounts, sometimes exceeding $1 million, while the civil attorneys handle a broad range of civil litigation.

All this work is accomplished at a feverish pace with tight deadlines, but also with a spirit of closeness and collegiality among the attorneys and staff.